1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a digital map generating system and its method. More particularly, the invention provides a system and its method that allows fast search of digital maps.
2. Related Art
Graphic maps can be diversified into many types specifically to be adapted for different uses for different users, such as road maps, geographical maps, topographic maps, and so on.
Traditional geographic maps are conventionally produced via a number of processing steps including measurement, data records, manual drawing, sampling, editing, and printing. This conventional production method is time-consuming and involves high labor cost. Since the year of 1960, the evolution of computer technology has permitted to digitalize information, and revolutionize the map production methods. In particular, the development of GIS technique led a significant progress in the display of geographical data, and digital maps, which rapidly replaced the traditional analog maps made on paper. Digital maps have many advantages including a low production cost, high data content capacity, long lasting life, high accuracy of details, and easy updating manipulations.
Currently, digital maps are conventionally processed from a scalar map database. After the user selected a search area, computation is conducted based on the scalar map database and scalar data; then transmitted to the user interface. Conventionally, while the user browses the digital maps, successive search manipulations usually require the generation of new maps, which results in a long processing time. The waiting time may be excessively long in some cases, and the user may be discouraged from using the digital maps since it may be quicker to search the traditional paper maps.
Therefore, there is a need for a processing method that allows fast search and display of the digital maps to reduce the processing time.